Book 1, Episode 9: "Out of the Past"

[Aaron B.]

Book 1, Episode 9: "Out of the Past"

Tarrlok hides Korra in a remote mountain cabin miles from Republic City; he reports as an alibi that Equalists attacked them and captured Korra...

[Jeffrey228]

In this episode, it was a ploy set up by Amon, more to something that the Freedom Fighters continue to get inside infomation to the Anti-Benders it is getting extremely diffcult to even defeat Amon, I think this is where I lost trust in the Freedom Fighters after the first season where Katara Turned against Jet, because they hated the Benders, and Tarrlok seeing his doom from Amon who is invincible as of the Freedom Fighters,

But the Flashbacks were the real deal in this episode, but also the Dark and Grusome scenes of body parts twisted from a Blood bender, that is not good, but a first to what Nick had allowed.

[ROGtheXtreme]

Good stuff.

Korra continues to very gradually work through her spiritual block. She's still unable to contact her past lives directly, but after being isolated from all distractions by Tarrlok, she finally finds the space and energy to meditate on her haunting visions.

Those flashbacks are, of course, absolutely fantastic. Seeing the old Gaang all grown up was a treat, and Yakone certainly made an impression with his limited screen time (speaking with the voice of Clancy Brown helps).

After a brief absence nearly allowed Tarrlok to eclipse his menace, Amon makes a triumphant return--and makes sure everyone knows that he's the villain to beat.

Can't wait to see how that fight goes next weekend.

[Tasermon's Teammate]

This episode was good, and I 'specially enjoyed the escape scene at the prison with the rail-line.

I understand that Korra bein' in the metal box, free of distractions and with nothin' else to do but meditate was probably the catalyst she needed to finally connect with her spiritual side (like some type of sensory deprivation), but I wish they had emphasized this point more.

It was great to see what our favorite characters from the original series looked like all-grown-up (Toph keeps her playfulness, while Aang seems surprisingly more serious? Sokka has become a wise councilman), but I just had trouble acceptin' their older voices. I don't know if it was the voices/voice actors they chose in particular, or if I'm just so used to their old voices (despite their older physical appearance), but it was just a bit off for me?

Anyone else notice the man in Air clothes on the council in the flashback? Was he an Air-accolade?

So Amon can overcome a Blood-bend. I'm impressed.

So Amon is stupid enough to let his underlings handle the Avatar without him, even though they've already lost to her several times before now (a classic and cliched villain mistake). I'm not impressed.

And how did he know that she was already in a metal box? It was in the basement, so it's not like they saw it in the window. Intuition?

For a second, when Amon appeared at the top of the stairs, I thought he and Tarrlok were in cahoots with each other. I think that was a purposeful slip on the part of the show's creators, who're known to give into fan-rumors and speculation with subtle hints and then change the outcome.

Also, Tarrlok's idea to take the Avatar with him as a hostage was also stupid. I mean, wouldn't it be much easier to escape unnoticed and get a new identity and life WITHOUT towin' a huge Avatar-sized metal box around? Of course, he was already tired, defeated, and a little off-his-rocker from the events before, so I can call it up to that.

In some ways, this episode was also anti-climatic in terms of the underlyin' drama that had developed so far. In earlier episodes, I got the feelin' that Tarrlok had deep secrets that he held over the other council members and the new police chief that kept 'em in his pocket. Yet when he shows his true colors here, it's like a switch is flipped and suddenly they were with the good guys all along and Tarrlok had pulled the Koala-sheep wool over their eyes?

I was at least expectin' some type of underhanded blackmail.

Even his own secretary turns against him? (Or was she just the Council's secretary in general? If she was, then it's much more believable.) It was quite the dues ex machina, I'll give it that. Almost no foreshadowin', I did NOT see that comin'.

Drama in Mako's love triangle heats up!

And where the heck was Pabu durin' all this?

Also, no Momo in the flashbacks either.

Up next: The Attack on Pearl Harbor...Avatar Style!

[Aaron B.]

The way the drama is ratcheted up so much and so often can certainly be attributed to the short season length, but I definitely have to give credit to the writers... the scope of the series seems to fluctuate every once in a while, but they do a good job of "bringing it home" by the end.

There's definitely a continuity blip there with Amon showing up at the mountain cottage, though. How did he tail Tarrlok? How did he know Korra was in the cellar? How did he know she was in a metal container? (Unless that's a really, really small cottage and it only has a cellar.) It's kind of improbable to think that Amon is so impossibly gifted that he has the psychic ability to see across long distances... But hey, his literal walk through bloodbending was a spectacular surprise. I think it may become common to argue that Amon is too invulnerable a villain after this episode, but the drama was too spectacular to ignore.

I'm not really diggin' Mako's "I love her but not really" vibe. It's sweet and all, but the way they make Asami grind her teeth in the background of every scene doesn't feel very organic in terms of the character dynamics. I dunno. Maybe if we had a more visible or genuine soliloquy from Mako then I might be sold more on his emotional investment into the girl.

Also, Bolin is a hilarious character and needs more screen time (although it looks like his chances with Korra are out of the window for good).

[ROGtheXtreme]

(06-15-2012 07:38 PM)Aaron H. Bynum Wrote:  How did he know Korra was in the cellar? How did he know she was in a metal container? (Unless that's a really, really small cottage and it only has a cellar.) It's kind of improbable to think that Amon is so impossibly gifted that he has the psychic ability to see across long distances...

That could well be a continuity hiccup, but Amon does back Tarrlok right up to the doorway, and the establishing shot didn't make the basement look too huge. I'd have to double check, but maybe Amon had at least a partial line-of-sight. In any case, he can reasonably guess that Tarrlok has the Avatar there, and locked up in the basement is as good a guess as any.

[Tasermon's Teammate]

(06-15-2012 07:38 PM)Aaron H. Bynum Wrote:  I'm not really diggin' Mako's "I love her but not really" vibe. It's sweet and all, but the way they make Asami grind her teeth in the background of every scene doesn't feel very organic in terms of the character dynamics.

Actually, I kinda think that's what they were goin' for.

Unlike the love-triangle between Bolin, Mako, and Korra, which seems to have been resolved remarkably quick (one episode in total), this triangle seems to drag on more and shows how some personal feelings can have a negative effect on the team's dynamics.